Experience & Rewards

Whether you are interested in paid taste testing or broader taste testing benefits, read about what each type of tasting experience has to offer below, then sign up to be added to our tester database. We post all of our upcoming events on the Food Science News Blog, as well as on Facebook. As a database member, you will automatically receive emails whenever we have a new tasting opportunity available (which is often!)

Taste Tests

For on site taste tests, you get to come in to the center and join a panel to evaluate food products. You will be compensated with gift cards to stores such as Target or Walmart. (The amount per opportunity will vary from $5 to $100 based on the complexity of the test.) An evaluation can take anywhere from 5-30 minutes. We typically schedule testing between 9:00 am – 5:00 pm, and sometimes after hours as late as 8:00 pm, and weekends.

Online Surveys

When we have an online survey that needs to be taken, we send out an email to our database members as well as post the opportunity to our blog and Facebook. You can just follow the link and complete the survey for as long as it is open. Compensation for surveys is typically an entry to win a gift card to Target or Walmart. (Approximately a $20 value)

Focus Groups

Focus Groups are similar to Taste Tests, but with a lot more discussion. Sometimes you may not actually taste anything – on occasion, the conversation may be around giving your opinion about new products. We try to match focus group panelists with the types of foods and products they are interested in and use often.

Focus groups are usually scheduled after 5:00 pm, with a time commitment between 1 – 1.5 hrs. You will be compensated with gift cards to stores such as Target or Walmart. Amount per opportunity will vary from $30 to $75.

Contract Panels

Panel tastings are for professionally trained tasters – visit the Becoming a Taster page to learn more about becoming an expert contract panelist. Expert panelists are compensated monetarily on an hourly basis. Once you are a contract panelist, you are regularly scheduled by the center for evaluations.